LAHORE: The social gathering of Pakistan’s jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan filed a contempt petition towards the federal government on Saturday (Aug 22) after authorities took the cricketer-turned-politician to a state-run hospital as an alternative of the personal facility ordered by the highest courtroom, social gathering officers mentioned.
“The petition seeks motion towards the prime minister, regulation minister, info minister” and different authorities officers, mentioned Naeem Panjutha, a authorized advisor for Khan’s social gathering, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), including it additionally requires Khan’s therapy on the personal hospital ordered by the courtroom.
Khan, who stays extremely well-liked in Pakistan, has been imprisoned since August 2023 on expenses he calls politically motivated after a fallout with the nation’s highly effective navy led to his elimination from workplace. His arrest sparked huge nationwide protests, together with the storming of navy installations, and public notion that he was moved again to jail forcefully has the potential to rekindle such demonstrations.
A 3-judge bench on Tuesday directed the federal government to switch Khan from Adiala Jail to the personal Shifa Worldwide Hospital in Islamabad inside two days for medical examination.
Officers as an alternative took Khan to the state-run Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in a single day on Friday for a quick check-up earlier than returning him to jail and didn’t give him entry to his private doctor, which the social gathering additionally cites as a breach of courtroom orders.
The PTI interprets the order as requiring Khan to stay underneath medical supervision till at the least mid-September.
Khan’s sister, Uzma Khan, who attended the examination at PIMS, informed media that whereas her brother is bodily match, “Khan informed me that he’s being repeatedly tortured in jail”. The inside and regulation ministries in addition to jail authorities haven’t responded to a request for remark from Reuters on the allegations of torture.
Info Minister Attaullah Tarar mentioned on Friday Khan was examined at PIMS due to safety dangers.
Khan’s supporters had lined Islamabad streets in a single day, and PTI leaders say the episode will intensify strain and increase preparations for a deliberate protest march on September 27.
